Tractor mounted lifter and loader



March 24, 1953 G. GERALDSON ET AL 2,632,575

TRACTOR MOUNTED LIFTER AND LOADER Filed March 25, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet l March 24, 1953 G. GERALDsoN I ET AL 2,632,575

TRACTOR MOUNTED LIF'TER AND LOADER Filed March 25, 1948 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 24, 1953 G. GERALDSON ETAL 2,632,575

TRACTOR MOUNTED LIFTER AND LOADER Filed March 25, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 j@ ZZA V M f/fA @W `retaining position as shown in Patented Mar. 24, 1953 TRACTOR MOUNTED LIFTER AND LOADER Gerald Geraldson, deceased, late of Rockford, Ill., by Christina Geraldson, executrix, and John M. Markel, Rockford, Ill., assignors to J. I. Case Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application March 23, 1948, Serial No. 16,504

4 Claims. (Cl. 214-140) This invention relates 'to a tractor-mounted lifter and loader having hydraulic means for lifting the fork to the desired height.

Y An object of this invention is to provide a loader that can be easily attached to'l a, tractor.

I Another object of this invention is to provide o loader having a fork, the angle of which, relative to the ground',` can be adjusted from the operators position.

Another object is to provide a loader f low height as compared with the elevation to which the fork or pick-up portion may extend.

Another object is to provide a loader which may be dumped or discharged at a lower elevation than iscommonly possible without interference with the re-set mechanism.

Another object is to lprovide for the ready mounting and dismounting of the loader with respect to a tractor.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent `from the description and claims.

In the drawings, in which an embodiment of the invention is shown, l

Figure l is a plan View of a tractor-mounted loader;

' Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the tractor and loader shown in Fig. 1, with the fork in lowered position; y

3 is -a View similar toFg. 2 with the boom and fork in.`raised position and the forkin discharge 5 position; I i A vFig; 4 is anenlarged side elevational view showing the latch mechanism for the fork and showing the means for adjusting the angular position of the fork tineswith respect to the boom;

Y "Fig". 5 is a plan view of the construction shown inrFig. 4, and Y Fig. 6 is an enlarged d tail of certain mechanism indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the con-- struction showncomprises a manure loader which may be mounted on an engine-driven vehicle which may be any usual or suitable tractor I, the loader comprising a two-armed fork-supporting boom 2 straddling the vehicle and detachabl:J and pivotally secured to the rear axle housings 3 of thetractor and extending forwardly therefrom, a pair of hydraulic rams 4 acting on the arms 'of the boom, respectively, for raising and lowering the boom, a fork or pick-up 'device 5 pivotally mounted on the swinging end of the boom at 6 movable from a load-receiving and Fig. 2 to a raised dum-pingvp'osition as shown in Fig. 3, a pair of 2 latch devices l mounted on opposite sides of the boom for automatically latching 'the fork with respect to` the boom in load-receiving and re-` taining position, a pedal 8 operable by the driver inthe seat 9 for releasing the latches 'I when the boom 2 is in raised position as shown in Fig. 3 to enable the fork 5 to drop to dumping position, cam means I0 for causing the forkl (as it moves from raised dumping position to lowered position) to move to load-receiving and retaining position and become latched in this position, and manually adjustable means, including the hand lever II, for varying the angular position of the pick-up fork 5 with respect-to the boom 2 Vand holding it in adjusted position during the move-` ment of the boom.

In use, assuming that there is a pile of Vmanureto be loaded, located in front of theloader in the position shown in Fig. 2 and that it is desired to pick up a forkful and carry it over to a spreader which is to be loaded, the boom 2 is brought to the desired position for'insertion into the pile, for example as shown in Fig. 2, by controlling the admission or exhaust of fluid under pressure with respect to the hydraulic cylinders I2 and I3 of the two rams 4. If it is desired to take offof the top of the pile first, the fork 5 will not be brought to its completely lowered position in this pick-up operation. When the fork has been inserted to the desired distance vin the pile, the hydraulic rams 4 are operated to cause the pistons I5 and I6 to be projected from the cylinders to cause the boom-2 to be raised to the desired height as shown in Fig. 3. The tractor may then be driven over in position tov dump the forkful into the spreader. The operator then depresses the foot pedal 8 to release the latch members 'i and allow the fork to drop by gravity to the load-releasing position shown in Fig. 3, allowing the load to fall into the spreader. The operator then runs the tractor back toward the pile for another forkful. As the loader is traveling, the fluid pressure from the rams may be released to allow the pistons I5 to retractinto the cylinders under the force due to the weight of the boom to allow the boom to move to its desired load-receiving position.` As the boom moves from the position shown in Fig.3 to the position shown in Fig. 2, a quick rise portion IBa of the caml is engaged -by the cam fol-.- lower roller I1 which is mounted on one armV I8 of va bell crank lever rockably mounted: in a bracket I9 secured to the boom arm. The other rock arm 20 of the bell cranklevervis connected with the upwardly-extending rear portion 2| of the fork-,5 bymeans ofA a longitudinally-yieldable link 22 having one end pivotally connected to the fork at 23 and the other end pivotally connected to the rock arm at 24. As the boom 2 in its downward movement causes the cam follower l1 to engage the cam l0, the fork is caused to straighten out and align itself with the boom and iinally to latch with respect to the boom by the engagement of the rollers, detents, or the like, 25 underneath the spring-pressed latches 1. The rear upright portion 2l of the fork is provided with a pair of keeper brackets 26, one pair at each side'of the fork and between which the rollers 25 are mounted.

The latch members 1 are xedly secured to a cross-shaft 2l which is slidably .and rockably mounted in slots 28 in a pair of brackets 29, in the present instance of inverted U-shape, secured to the boom arms, respectively. If the rockshaft 21 is raised, the latches 1 will be raised and the tips of the fork tines or bottom portion 39 of the fork Vwill be lowered when the fork is in latched position, and vice versa. rThis adjustment of the rockshaft of the latch members enables the angular position of the pivoted fork with respect to the boom arms to be varied as desired by a proper setting of the hand-operable adjusting lever Il on the left side of the tractor. The shifting.- up and down of the rockshaft 21 with which the latches V1 are rockably mounted, is effected by means of a pair of slides, cams or actuators 3| slidably mounted in brackets 29 on the boom arms, respectively, each having an obliquely-extending slot 33 through which the shiftable rockshaft 21 extends. When the slides are shifted longitudinally ont-he boom arms, the rockshaft will be constrained to move up or down because of the cooperation between the slots 28 in the brackets and the slots 33 in the slides 3i with the rockshaft 2'1 which extends through these slots. The slides 3l are operated simultaneously from thecontrol lever H by means of a link 3c pivotally connected with the control lever ll at 35, a rock arm 35 secured to a rockshaft 31 mounted on brackets 38 on the boom, arms 39 and pivotally connected at 40 with the link 34, a rock arm 4l mounted on the rockshaft 31, and links 42 pivotally connected at 43 with the rock arms 36 and lll, respectively, and pivotally connected at 411 with the slides 3|, respectively.

As previously indicated, the tractor may be of any usual construction comprising the rear wheels 45, the front wheels 45, the steering wheel 41 and steering gear for steering the front wheels. The supporting boom 2 comprises the two -arms 39,` one on each side of thetractor, each arm being pivotally mounted at 49 on a split bracket 49 detachably secured to the rear axle housing 3.- The end of each of the piston rods I5, i6 is` pivotally secured at 5l adjacent the upper end of an upwardly-extending arm 52 rigidlyl secured toone of the arms 39 of the boom. The lower end of each of the cylinders l 2, I3 is pivotally` mounted at 53 on a bracket 54 detachably secured adjacent the lower front end of the engine', the 'bracket 54 being detachably secured in the usual socket in the tractor provided for the attachment of the cultivator beams or crossbars. In order to hold the upright arms 52 in proper position with respect to the boom arms 39, a pair `of tension rods 55v are provided connecting the arms 52v with the crossbar 56 of the boom 2. As shown in Figs. l, 2, and 3, the cam means l0 is mounted on a bracket secured in one of the cultivator beam sockets.

Iny order to hold-,the latches,` 1 in position to engage the rollers 25 on the fork when the fork is moved to latching position, a coil tension spring 51 is provided having one end secured to a bracket 58 mounted on the crossbar 56 of the boom and having its other end secured to one of the latches 1. In order to hold the fork 5 in the desired adjusted position, the lever Ill is provided with a quadrant 59 secured to a boom arm 39 and having notches for holding the lever Il in its adjusted position. In order to provide some tolerance in the latching operation of the fork 5 and to provide a shock absorbing eect, the link 22 is made yieldingly extensible. This is accomplished by making the link 22 slidable in a guide pivotally mounted on the arm 20 at 24 and providing a coil compression spring 60 acting to draw the pivoted ends 23 and 24 of the link toward each other.

To facilitate connecting and disconnecting the boom and associated parts with the tractor, each arm of thev boom is` provided with a pivoted foldable foot 6l which can be lowered to rest on,

the ground and hold the rear end of the boom arms 39 up in the air while the tines or bottom portion 33 of the fork 5 rest on the ground, thus bringing the split connecting members 49 to a position where they can readily engage the axle housings 3. In making the connection, the

feet 6l are set in lowered ground-engagingA position to hold the rear ends of the boom arms 39 in elevated position, the tractor is driven from the rear in between the two elevated ends and the split brackets 49 aresecured to the axle housings. Each foot is pivotally mounted on a bracket 62 detachably secured to one of the boom arms 39 and may be raised and held in raised position by a link 63 pivotally connected at one end to the pivoted foot 6I and pivotally connected at its other end to a clamping bracket 64 mounted for longitudinal adjustment on the boom arm 39. After the boom is connected to the tractor, the positioning feet 6I may be raised and held in raised position by sliding the clamping bracket 64 away from the clamping bracket 62V and clamping it with the brackets in extreme separated position as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. l

The cylinders |-2 and I3 may be supplied with liquid under pressure from a supply source of well-known type, provided with a control lever 65 located in a` position convenient for control by the driver seated on the tractor, through a pipe 65 leading to a pair of nipples 61, .one for each of the cylinders I-2 and I3. The cylinders may be detachably connected withA theseV nipples by means of exible lengths of tubing 68n leading from the nipples to the lower end of the cylinders. When the boom is to be disconnected from the tractor, the iiexible tubing is disconnectedfrom the nipples' and the free ends slipped over or threaded on suitably-shaped studs 69V vmounted on brackets 19 secured to the boom arms, 39. This keeps the tubing from lopping around when the boom arms are disconnected from the tractor.

The` operation of the device is thought to be apparent from the foregoing, it being suiiicient to say that the fork or pick-up member 5 is inserted in the material by forward movement of the tractor and raised by operation of the duid pressure cylinders 4. If theangle of bottom portion or tines30- is not correct it may be changed by manipulating lever H- for shifting cams 3|. When the point of discharge has been reached, the load may be dumped by pressing pedal 8 for withdrawing latches 1 froml detents.- 25 by means of the link 8a. Upon downward movement of pick-up or fork 5, roller I1 encounters the quick-rise portion I6a of camVlG and is abruptly shifted to the position shown in Figs.'2 and 6, returning .pick-up portion 5 to the loading position of Fig. 2, serious shock being avoided by yielding of spring lili.

It will be observed that the quick-rise portion I6a is located a substantial distance below the position of roller I7 when pick-up 5 is in its extreme elevated position, as shown in Fig. 3, and it follows that pick-up 5 may be released with accompanying movement of roller I1 before pick-up 5 has risen to excessive height for loading a low vehicle. This is so because the quick-rise portion of cam IB causes the resetting of the pick-up in loading position only during the last part of the downward movement of the boom, the roller l1 being free during the remainder of the movement.

What is claimed is:

l. A material loader comprising a motor-driven vehicle, a fork-supporting boom pivotally mounted on said vehicle, means for raising and lowering said boom, a pick-up and discharge device mounted on said boom for pivotal movement from a loadreceiving and retaining position to a dumping position. latch means for holding said device in load-retaining position, means for releasing said latch to enable the device to move to dumping position, and manually operable means for varying the angular load-receiving position of the device with respect to the boom and holding the device in adjusted angular position during the movement of the boom, said latch means comprising a latch member having a trunnion mounted for rocking and lateral sliding movement on said boom, and guide means on lsaid boom for engaging and guiding said trunnion, said adjusting means comprising means for shifting laterally the position of the axis of the latch member with respect to the boom.

2. In a tractor-mounted loading device a forwardly-extending boom movable from a lowered toV a raised position, a pick-up device having a bottom portion and a pivotal connection with said boom, and said pick-up device being swingable from a downwardly-directed discharge position to a loading and lifting position with said lbottom portion extending generally in the direction of said boom, a detent on said pick-up device spaced longitudinally of the loading device from said pivotal connection, a latch device engaged with said detent for holding said pick-up device in said lifting and loading position and releasable from said detent to provide for swinging of said pickup device into said discharge position, a pintle for said latch mounted for rocking and lateral sliding movement on said boom, guide means on said boom` for engaging and guiding said pinion laterally, and adjusting means for yshifting laterally the position of the axis of the latch member with respect to the boom comprising cam means for said pintle supporting the same from said boom and shiftable to space said pintle more or less fromv said boom for changing the angle of said bottom portion of said pick-up device relative to said boom.

3. A device of the character of claim 2 including mechanism for rocking said latch device about said pintle for releasing said pick-up device for swinging to dumping position.

4. In a tractor-mounted loading device a forwardly-extending boom movable from a lowered to a raised position, a pick-up device having a bottom portion and a pivotal connection with the boom, and said pick-up device being swingable from a downwardly-directed discharge position to a loading and lifting position with said bottom portion extending generally in the direction of said boom, latch and detent devices on said boom and pick-up for maintaining said pick-up in said loading and lifting position, a crank arm for shifting said pick-up device from said discharge position to said loading and lifting position, said crank -arm being pivotally supported on said boom and having connections constituted to swing said pickup in an upward direction in response to upward swinging of said crank arm, and a cam on said tractor having a quick rise portion disposed in the path taken by said crank arm during downward movement of said boom and a slow rise portion disposed in the path taken by said crank arm during upward movement of said boom, and a resilient element interposed in the connection between the crank arm and the pick-up device, so that said crank arm can be forced by said cam somewhat beyond the position necessary to cause latching of said latch and detent devices by yielding of said resilient element t0 insure latching of said latch and detent devices.

CHRISTINA GERALDSON. Eecutri of the estate of Gerald Geraldson, de-

ceased.

JOHN M. MARKEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,268,689 Andrus Jan. 6, 1942 2,301,102 Werthman et al Nov. 3, 1942 2,319,921 Dooley et al May 25, 1943 2,387,687 Smith Oct. 23, 1945 2,393,435 Wachter Jan. 22, 1946 2,398,964 Rogers et al Apr. 23, 1946 2,402,064 Markel June 11, 1946 2,417,560 McNamara, Jr. Mar. 18, 1947 2,451,101 Leschinsky Oct. 12, 1948 2,462,790 Van Voorhis Feb. 22, 1949 2,469,007 Siebring May 3, 1949 

